Help with first Whites Tree Frog?

[rockpaw]

Hello! Okay, so I am really considering getting a whites tree frog. It will be my first time owning a frog, so forgive me for asking dumb questions! I know the basic care, and have researched a lot about them. I have a couple of questions though:
1. Is a substrate heater necessary?
2. So, i get that you need a heat bulb, and a UVB bulb, and 12 hours light, 12 hours dark, but when it is the dark cycle, do you turn off all the lights, or leave one on?
3. How often should I feed my frog, and how many crickets?

Thanks, rockpaw.

[helm96]

Hey Rockpaw, Welcome to the forums. And you are doing the right thing asking the questions before you get the frog. They are not dumb questions and some of them are ones that are not thought of to ask till after the frogs are bought. Let me see if I can answer the questions for you.

1. Is a substrate heater necessary? A WTF is comfortable in a mid 70's environment. You can go heat by light or heat by UTH (Under Tank Heater). I like to use the UTH personally for a few reasons. I attached mine to the side of my enclosure towards the bottom of the tank. I placed it there since heat rises. This way they have a side of the tank that is warm from top to bottom. If they get hot they can move to the other side of the enclosure to cool off. Lights depnding on the height of the tank do not heat low real well. Heating setups I have noticed do vary from person to person.

2. So, i get that you need a heat bulb, and a UVB bulb, and 12 hours light, 12 hours dark, but when it is the dark cycle, do you turn off all the lights, or leave one on? So you do not need a UVB bulb. The frogs can recieve a small benefit from it but it would be more beneficial for plants. My lights that I have in my tank for day I have a 13w CFL UVB bulb. Very low heat and I use the UVB for the plants. At night I have a 13w moonlight bulb for a little better viewing at night (Not needed, more for me). If you are using a UTH, depending on the size you may not need a heat lamp. if you do a smaller UTH you might need some extra heat from light. Hope I am not losing you here.

The best thing you can do is set the tank up a few weeks before you get the little guys and play with things till you get the desired heat/ humidty. That is another thing to consider is a good (digital recommended) temp/humidity gauge. WTF like a good 60% humidity. Which in some setups can be a task, thats why I recommend setting up before you get your frogs so you can make sure the needed heat/humidity levels can be maintained regularly.

I know, I know I am all over!

3. How often should I feed my frog, and how many crickets? This will depend on the frog. How old/big they are. A few tips in feeding is never feed a cricket to your frogs that is longer then the width between the frogs eyes. Also dusting crickets is VERY important. They need to be dusted with calcium about 3-4 times a week and dusted with Vitamins once a week. Never mix the Cal/Vits together for a dusting as this can lower the effects of the cal/vits.

I hope this helped you out. Please if anything I said was unclear ask questions. We want to make sure that the frogs live a long healthy life and the people here can help make that happen!


Thank you and once again welcome!

[rockpaw]

Thank you so much for answering! I thought that your answers were very helpful.

[helm96]

Glad the answers were helpful. I am no expert by any means but I have had my Whites for well over 2 years and they are happy, healthy, and maybe too well fed. I can and am happy to help with some basic info, and there are a some froggy Einsteins on here that can help with the tougher questions!